Tag: Racing Post Trophy

Elm Park stars in 310-1 treble for Betcirca

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Andrew Balding’s Elm Park is a top price 20-1 for next season’s Epsom Derby after making all to win the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday.

The racecard had looked tricky beforehand with the soft ground and large fields but three of our four selections won at accumulative odds of 310-1. The first to come home in front was Code Red in the Listed Doncaster Stakes for William Muir.

I felt that the favourite Portamento might be vulnerable in the ground and had been impressed by Code Red’s four-length win in a minor race at Nottingham recently. Early odds of 11-1 were soon snapped up and he returned the 11-2 winner after catching the Godolphin runner inside the final furlong.

On a day when trainer Richard Fahey had four winners, it was his Emerahldz that let us down in the mile and half handicap, fading into seventh behind 14-1 stable companion Latenightrequest. The set-back proved to be temporary as our old friend Dungannon landed our 8-1 tip in the sprint against 18 rivals. I must have written as much about this gelding as I have about any flat racer in recent years and he gave us another pay day in beating Ajjaadd and Demora quite comfortably.

The final leg was his stable mate Elm Park, already a favourite of mine after tipping him successfully in his previous two races. He never looked in any trouble as he led from start to finish to beat Aloft and Celestial Path. The bookmakers quoted odds varying between 10-1 and 20-1 and I have to say that the latter is tempting.

As I mentioned in my Saturday preview, the Racing Post Trophy has a fine record for producing Derby winners with Reference Point, Authorized, Motivator, High Chaparral and Camelot the latest in a long line of dual winners. Kingston Hill won this race impressively a year ago and went on to finish second in the Derby before winning the St Leger for Roger Varian.

Elm Park does not look anything other than a middle distance horse in the making and I would be very surprised if Balding contemplated a tilt at the 2000 Guineas. I am happy to re-invest a little of Saturday’s profits on the colt for the Derby. Our 20-1 Melbourne Cup tip Mutual Regard is now a best price of 12-1 and we also have the Breeders’ Cup to look forward to.

Elm Park 2015 Epsom Derby @20-1 Ladbrokes

Doncaster Saturday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It is Racing Post Trophy day at Doncaster on Saturday with Elm Park bidding to underline his claims for next season’s Derby.

The race, formerly known as the Futurity Stakes, has been a great guide to the classics over the years. The history of the race is littered with names like Reference Point, Authorized, Motivator, High Chaparral and Camelot. The last two on that list were trained by Aidan O’Brien who also saddled St Nicholas Abbey to win this race. He is represented by Jacobean and Aloft, neither of who appear to have sufficient form to win this.

Jacobean ran on to take second on his debut while Aloft won narrowly at Newmarket. Andrew Balding’s Elm Park has 9lbs in hand on official figures following his win in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes. Things did not go entirely smoothly that day as he was bumped leaving the stalls and looked in trouble two furlongs out. Perhaps the ground was a little quick for him and he has already shown that he can handle the soft when powering home at Newbury. Having tipped him at Salisbury and Newmarket, I cannot desert him here.

The going was very testing on Friday with some two-year-olds stopping to almost a walk in the early maiden races. Andrew Balding could also be on target in the sprint with our old friend Dungannon. He helped us out at Ascot last time when winning by a short-head in similar ground and he bids to win this race for the second year in succession.

He is only 1lb higher in the ratings and my main concern is his low draw. The runners may favour the stands side if the going becomes too testing and that would leave Dungannon on wrong side.

More favourably drawn is South African import Counter Ridge, trained by Marco Botti. She almost belied of odds of 66-1 when runner-up here last month and is a bit of an unknown quantity if you’re looking for a lively outsider.

I will also be looking for some each-way value in the 2.10 race. Portamento won an egg-and-spoon race last time and looks vulnerable. Nothing went right for Manofmanytalents last time out at York and he did well to finish as close as he did behind Mattmu. However, I am not entirely convinced that he will like this ground and will side with easy Nottingham winner Code Red.

Knife Point has solid form in the mile and a quarter handicap for Hugo Palmer. He finished fourth to shock winner Farquhar at Newmarket but it is anybody’s guess whether he will handle the ground. That won’t be a concern for Emerahldz who has won on heavy at Beverley for Richard Fahey.

Code Red 2.10 @11-1 BetVictor

Emerahldz 2.40 @8-1 Ladbrokes

Dungannon 3.15 @8-1 Ladbrokes

Elm Park 3.50 @15-8 Bet365